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The Latest |Americans encouraged to protect their eyes

The moon has started to cover up the sun as a partial eclipse begins over the South Pacific. Millions along a narrow corridor in North America from Mexico’s Pacific coast to eastern Canada hope for clouds to clear as they eagerly wait for totality to reach their location. The first location in continental North America to experience totality: Mexico’s Pacific coast, at around 2 p.m. EDT Monday. The weather isn’t looking good for a large part of the eclipse’s path. Clouds could get in the way for a stretch of the route, with the heaviest clouds expected in parts of Texas. The skies are expected to be clear in northern New England.

Palestinians returning to Khan Younis after Israeli withdrawal find an unrecognizable city

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Streams of Palestinians have filed into the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis to salvage what they can from the vast destruction left in the wake of Israel’s offensive. Displaced Palestinians have been making their way back to the city since the Israeli military announced Sunday it was withdrawing troops from the area. Many came back to the Gaza Strip’s second-largest city to find their former hometown unrecognizable. Israel’s withdrawal of troops from Khan Younis has signaled the end of a key phase in its war against Hamas. But it also clears the way for some Palestinians to make their way back to the area to comb through the mountains of debris to try to hold on to any possessions that remain.

Vatican blasts gender-affirming surgery, surrogacy and gender theory as violations of human dignity

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican has declared that gender-affirming surgeries and surrogacy are grave violations of human dignity. A new document from the doctrine office puts them on a par with abortion and euthanasia as practices that violate God’s plan for human life. In its most eagerly anticipated section, the Vatican flat-out rejected “gender theory” or the idea that one’s gender can be changed. It said God created man and woman as biologically different, separate beings, and said people must not tinker with that plan or try to “make oneself God.”

Biden will talk about student debt relief in Wisconsin after primary voting delivered warning signs

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is traveling to Wisconsin to announce details of a new plan to help more than 30 million people with their student loan debt. The Democratic president will visit Madison on Monday, a week after primary voting in the Midwest battleground state highlighted weaknesses for him and for Republican challenger Donald Trump. Biden is expected to talk in Wisconsin’s liberal capital about coming federal regulations highlighting new categories of borrowers who would be eligible to have their debt reduced or eliminated. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court foiled Biden’s plan to provide hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt relief. His new plan is smaller, and would expand federal student loan relief to new categories of borrowers through the Higher Education Act.

Trump declines to endorse a national abortion ban and says it should be left to the states

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has declined to endorse a national abortion ban and says he believes abortion should be left to the states. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee released a video outlining his position Monday. Trump says whatever the states decide “must be the law of the land — in this case, the law of the state.” Trump declines to lay out a timeline for when he believes abortion should be banned. President Joe Biden’s Democratic campaign says Trump is “endorsing every single abortion ban in the states, including abortion bans with no exceptions.” One of the country’s most prominent groups opposed to abortion rights says it’s “deeply disappointed” in Trump’s position.

Latino voters are coveted by both major parties. They also are a target for election misinformation

PHOENIX (AP) — Experts expect a surge of misinformation targeting Spanish-speaking voters with a high-stakes presidential election in the fall as candidates vie for support from the rapidly growing number of Latino voters. Much of that is expected to come through audio, whether it’s over the radio or through podcasts or social media platforms such as WhatsApp and YouTube. In Arizona, an important presidential swing state with a large Latino population, Radio Campesina is leading an effort to empower Latino voters by discussing election-related misinformation narratives and fact-checking conspiracy theories on air.

Actor Jonathan Majors avoids jail time, sentenced to counseling for assaulting ex-girlfriend

NEW YORK (AP) — Jonathan Majors has been ordered to complete a yearlong counseling program but avoided jail time for assaulting his ex-girlfriend. The high-profile case derailed the once-promising actor’s career. The 34-year-old star of “Creed III” and other films was convicted of misdemeanor assault and harassment during a December trial in New York City. Following the verdict, Majors was dropped by Marvel Studios, which had cast him as the main villain in its comic book movies and television shows for years to come. The conviction stemmed from an altercation last March in which Majors’ then-girlfriend Grace Jabbari accused him of attacking her in a car, but Majors claimed she was the aggressor.

Brazil Supreme Court justice orders investigation of Elon Musk over fake news and obstruction

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A crusading Brazilian Supreme Court justice is adding Elon Musk to an investigation over the dissemination of fake news and investigating him separately for alleged obstruction. Justice Alexandre de Moraes noted that Musk began a “disinformation campaign” regarding the top court’s actions, including saying the social media platform X would cease to comply with the court’s orders to block certain accounts. De Moraes in the decision Sunday said the “incitement of crime” and lack of cooperation “disrespect the sovereignty of Brazil.” On Saturday, Musk wrote on X that the platform would lift all restrictions on blocked accounts and predicted the move would force the company to shutter its local office. “But principles matter more than profit,” he wrote.

Two years after its historic win, a divided Amazon Labor Union lurches toward a leadership election

The first labor union for Amazon workers in the United States is divided, running out of money and still does not have a contract two years after clinching a historic victory in New York City. Despite campaigns at several facilities in the past few years, a Staten Island warehouse still is the only site in the U.S. where the retail giant’s workers have voted in favor of union representation. Cracks emerged within the Amazon Labor Union ranks after it lost votes at two other warehouses, spurring strategy disagreements. Prominent members resigned quietly or left to form a dissident labor group. The union also continues to face roadblocks from Amazon.

South Carolina, Iowa, UConn top final AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll to cap extraordinary season

South Carolina, Iowa and UConn have finished atop the final AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll of the season. The Gamecocks won their second national championship in three years with an 87-75 victory over Iowa. They received all 35 first-place votes. It is the first time in the 47-year history of the women’s Top 25 that the AP has released its final poll after the tournament.